All Good Things Ep 03: Fan Boy
by Jurnee Jakes
Summary: Kim and Ron, now living together while going to separate colleges, now must face the consequences of that decision as Kim's family comes for a surprise visit. As well, there is a new villian with the goal of making sure Kim... lives?
1. Prologue

Kim Possible

Fan Boy

Prologue

Beep beep beep-beep.

Kim groaned, fumbling one arm in the dark, searching for the Kimmunicator.

Beep beep beep-beep.

Rubbing her eyes before activating the gadget, Kim made sure to cover herself and aim the video screen away from the other side of the bed. "What's the sitch, Wade?" she whispered.

"Sorry for waking you, Kim. Your sit just got a hit from Pop Pop Porters. Apparently someone just stole..."

"Another balloon?" Kim guessed, yawning.

"No! The plans for his cryofreeze ray!" Wade exclaimed.

"Uh? Pop pop?" Ron mumbled in his sleep.

"What was that?" Wade asked.

"Uh, nothing." Kim smiled nervously. "Gotta jet, Wade." she said, closing the connection and looking at the clock. It was five o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. She sighed.

Beep beep beep-beep.

Kim rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. Not going to bed until two as she and Ron unpacked had just caught up with her. She activated the Kimmunicator again.

"Hi Kim!"

"Mom?!"

"Oh, what time is it there?" he mother asked.

"It's just after five." Kim blinked. Her mother winced.

"Oh, sorry. Anyway, we thought we'd warn you..."

"Warn me about what?" Kim whispered.

"Well, the boys wanted to deliver your car, and your father and I thought we'd tag along and see your new place!" he mother said excitedly.

"Oh, hey... that's great... mom." Kim said nervously, now suddenly wide awake. "Wait, are you calling from the car?"

"We're four hours away!" Anne Possible said.

"I've... uhm, got a mission that I've got to get ready for. But I'm going to see you when I get back, okay?" Kim said, putting on a fake grin.

"Be careful, Kimmie cub." came her father's voice.

"I will." Kim assured her father before cutting off the connection. "I'm doomed..."

"Huh? Who was that?" Ron asked sleepily.

"Pop pop Porter needs our help again." Kim said.

"That's nice. Let me know when we leave." Ron yawned.

"And my family... including my father... will be here in four hours." Kim said, chuckling to herself.

"Uh oh." came the squeak from Rufus.

Ron's eyes shot open and he was instantly awake. "That'd be so cool if he wasn't going to kill me..."


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

It had been a mad scramble to hide Ron and Rufus's possessions while getting ready for a mission and catching a ride to Pop Porter's headquarters. Kim was having difficulty focusing on the task at hand. Ron however, was distracting himself with the Communicator. Kim looked back at him and smiled. He had decided to keep the top half of his Canadian Spy coveralls, turning it into a red denim jacket that hung open over his black goodie. He had even replaced his old cargo's with new grey camouflage cargos. He claimed his old mission gear wasn't fitting quite as well as they used to, and Kim could tell. His shoulders were broadening and he had grown a few inches taller as well.

"Hey KP, you'll never guess who just found me on My Spot!" Ron exclaimed.

"Your spot?" Kim asked as she rang the front door bell.

Ron looked at her blankly. "My Spot. It's an entire network of people all over the world on the net!"

"Right... more geek speak."

"Kim, think of how many more hits you could get if Kimpossible dot com was on My Spot!" Ron grinned.

"Like I need more hits." Kim said, knocking on the door. "Wade's been keeping me busy enough as it is, thank you."

"Anyway... guess who found me!"

"My dad?" Kim said with a smirk.

Ron looked around nervously. "Don't even joke, Kim. I am so over, right now!"

Kim sighed. "I know my dad's protective, Ron..." she began.

"He threatened to send me into a black hole when we started dating."

"Okay, so... he's really overprotective." Kim replied.

"Walter Nelson." Ron said, out of the blue.

"What?"

"Walter Nelson! He found me on My Spot and wants to know how we're doing!" Ron said.

"Each! The locked braces guy?" Kim reaffirmed, feeling her teeth with her fingers as the memory came flooding back to her.

Suddenly, the double doors opened and out stepped a tall, heavy set man with short white hair and a neatly trimmed moustache and beard. "Kim Possible! Well, how're ya'll doing? I sure am glad I was able to get yer services. You sure did a good job at saving my flash freezer and finding my most prized balloon before." Pop Pop Porter said, hooking his thumbs into his suspenders. "Why, I don't even bother calling the police anymore!" he smiled.

Kim never minded coming to Pop Pop's aid. He was one of the kinder people she's had to lend her services to. Ron liked helping because he got free corndogs. "Mr. Pop Pop Porter, sir. My services are yours to call on. I hear your cryofreeze machine is gone again and if there are corndogs in danger of..." Ron stepped up in a hands on hips heroic pose.

"Son... just the plans were taken. The machine is still up and running." Pop Pop said, watching Ron's grin fade.

"Aw man, that tanks! I mean... We'll get those plans back, sir." Ron smiled.

Kim rolled her eyes. It seemed the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Especially Ron. "Where were the plans located, Mr. Porter?" Kim asked.

"In a file in my personal office." he said, suddenly looking nervous. Putting his hand to the side of his mouth, he whispered close. "We think it might have been an inside job."

Kim touched her chin in thought. "Can you give my webmaster access to your personnel files? I'd like to do a review."

"Absolutely, Ms. Possible." he smiled. "I'll patch him through. If there's anything else I can help with, you just let me know."

"I'll keep you posted."

"Now, I s'pose you'd like to have a look at the scene of the crime?" Pop Pop asked.

"Please and thank you!" Kim smiled. She reached back, pulling Ron by the arm. "Ron, would you put the Communicator away?"

Ron sighed, stuffing the gadget into a pocket. "I'm trying to fix the screen. It's all blurry!" Kim looked at him strangely as they walked through the door to Pop Pop's office.

"The plans were in the vault, Mr. Porter?" Kim asked as Ron took a survey of the room.

"That's right. I wasn't gone more than two minutes. When I came back, the vault was open and my top secret cryofreeze ray plans were gone!"

Kim activated her wrist Communicator. "Wade, any sign of fingerprints or other ev.?"

"I'm not seeing anything on microscopic or infrared, Kim. And to be able to break through that vault in under two minutes would require knowledge of the combination... or genius."

"Or both." Ron added.

"Thanks, Mr. Optimistic." Kim retorted. "Any luck on the employee files, Wade?"

"Nothing yet. Pop Pop Porter's headquarters alone employs over a thousand people." Wade replied.

"For corndogs?"

"While we do make more than just corndogs, it is a very complex and labor intensive process." Pop Pop piped in.

"It could take awhile." Wade continued. "I'll let you know when I find something."

Kim shut down the Communicator. "Don't worry, Mr. Porter. We'll find you plans."

"I don't think I need to tell you that if my cryofreeze ray got into the hands on my competition... well, it could very well mean the end of Pop Pop's mini frozen corndogs." Pop Pop explained.

Ron's face fell. "Can this day get any worse?!"

Kim sighed. "Well, we're on our way home. How does that grab you?"

Rufus hummed the death march as Ron dragged his feet out the door.

* * *

"No, we're not lying. We're just... obscuring the truth... for now." Kim explained as they looked up at the apartment building that her and Ron lived in. There were standing behind Kim's tricked out purple car, which meant that her parents and brothers were here. She had hoped that they would at lest refrain from using the thrusters. "Well, we can't just stand out here all day." she said, opening the door to the apartment complex.

"Can't we Kim? Can't we?" Ron asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Smile and be brave." Kim encouraged, pulling on his arm. "Monkey ninja master, already." she teased with a wink.

They climbed the steps to the fourth floor quickly enough until reaching the door to their apartment. Ron heaved a sign before taking two fingers and stretching his mouth into a smile. "How do I look?"

"Like Drakken whenever he thought he was about to win." Kim said with a smirk. Ron's smile faded and she pulled him close, placing a passionate kiss on his lips. "For luck." she said with a wink. The true Ron-smile returned as Kim opened the door to see her parents in the kitchen and her younger twin brothers watching Legend Killers in the living room.

"There's my Kimmie-cub!" James Possible said as he swept over to nearly crush Kim in a fatherly hug.

"Hey... uh, dad." Kim said nervously.

"Now Kim, don't you worry about that whole debacle a few months ago. Your friend Wade filled us in on what all happened." her father smiled, then turned to Ron, offering a hand. "Ronald, I hope you've been taking good care of my daughter."

Ron was having a difficult time looking him in the eye, but took the man's hand just the same. "Of course, Mr. Dr. P, sir. I'm the epitome of responsibility now. Y'know, since saving the world with the whole ultimate monkey power." Ron said, flexing. Kim rolled her eyes at his attempt to intimidate her father.

"Go have a seat, Kim. Lunch is almost ready." he mother smiled. Kim stepped into the living room, shooting Ron a sideways warning glance when it seemed he was about to walk into their bedroom to change.

"Uh, which one is the bathroom again, Kim?" Ron nearly shouted to cover up his mistake.

"The one with the bath tub in it." Kim said, pointing.

"Oh, right." Ron laughed nervously.

"So how are my favorite brothers?" Kim asked, sitting down between the twins on the couch. They looked at each other and grinned. They had grown quite a bit in the last year and a half. She hadn't taken the time to notice during the Cerebral Manipulator mess a few months ago. Tim was now sporting a dark brown soul patch on his chin and seemed to be partial to wearing a red muscle shirt. Jim, on the other hand was still clean shaven, but with side burns and wore a pressed green button up shirt over a white tee.

"So Kim..." Jim said, low enough that their parents wouldn't hear. "That's a nice Z-Boy you've got there. Latest version too."

"Yeah, so?" Kim asked, instantly suspicious.

"Zombie Mayhem Four and Mako Three. Didn't know you were such an avid gamer now." Tim commented. "Especially with some of Ron's favorite games."

"He... he spends a lot of time here, alright?" Kim defended.

"Oh, we know." the twins said in unison, with a cackle of laughter. "And yet he doesn't know where the bathroom is?"

Kim narrowed her gaze. "What do you know?"

"We know that you both have classes for more than half the day, every week day." Jim began.

"We also know that Ron still works at Smarty Mart." Tim continued.

"Which leaves negligible time for Ron to come here after work, then go back to the dorm across town in time to do anything other than sleep and do it all again the next day." Jim finished.

"We're almost sixteen, sis. Mom and Dad may be oblivious... for now, but don't play us for fools." Time said.

"Fine. But not a word, alright?" Kim whispered as Ron stepped out of the bath room.

"Lunch is ready!" Anne Possible called. "Kim, where are your serving bowls?" she asked.

Before Kim could answer, Ron was opening the correct cupboard and pointing them out. "Here you go, Mrs. Dr. P."

"My Ronald, you certainly know your way around a kitchen!" Kim's mother noticed.

"Yeah, uh... it's funny, y'know. Home Economics was one class I actually scored honors in in High School." Ron replied.

"That's not all he's scoring." Tim said to Jim in a whisper.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"Hey, hey, old buddy! How's life been treatin' ya?" Ron asked, approaching the table. He was still in his mission gear as it would have been awkward changing into his own clothes with Kim's parents still there at the apartment. So, to ease the tension... mainly his and Kim's, he decided to take Walter Nelson up on his offer.

"Wow... Ron?" Walter asked. "You don't look anything like your picture." he said, offering a hand.

Ron raised his eyebrows, taking the man's hand. Walter was wearing a styled suit and tie, gold rimmed glasses and a Rolex watch that shined in the mall's artificial lighting. "Uh, yeah. Turned out the only picture I could find at the time was when I had this muscle enhancing ring..." he grinned.

To either side of Walter sat two men that appeared to be in about their thirties, wearing the same expensive suits. "Ron Stoppable." Walter smiled, causing Ron to cringe. For all the style Walter was wearing, his smile could have peeled paint with jagged, crooked teeth that nearly overlapped his bottom lip. His smile faded. "Bob, Mark... meet my good friend Ron Stoppable." Ron nodded to each in turn. "So... where's Kim? I hear you two are inseparable these days."

"Kim's parents are up for a visit, so I'm out of the house for the day." Ron said, sitting down. "Looks like you've done well for yourself."

"Oh yes. When my parents sued our orthodontist for the catastrophe that occurred after the brace lock incident, we lived quite comfortably when we moved to Upperton." Walter smiled, making a conscious effort to keep his teeth from showing.

"You sued your orthodontist?" Ron asked.

"For everything he had." Walter elaborated, adjusting his glasses. "My mother's a lawyer. Then a few years ago, my dad got fired from his aeronautical design facility by some rich kid that didn't like what he had to say and bought the place."

"That's harsh, dude." Ron said. "But y'know, those aero-whatever places are heavy on the pushy, you know what I mean? I keep getting these phone calls and letters in the mail bothering me for a reply. They're worse than telemarketers!"

"Really?" Walter asked with the slightest hint of a glare. "So tell me, Ron. What's been happening with you and Kim?"

"Since you've been gone?" Ron's eyes went wide. He had always enjoyed storytelling and his adventures with Kim had given him even more inspirations than Camp Wannaweep. "Let me tell you, we are still saving the world. Y'know, between classes. Things really started getting scary in the ninth grade when we met this evil duo named Dr. Drakken and Shego, and Kim got this high explosive tick attached to her face, but she was stuck in detention and I..."

Walter stopped him by holding up a hand. "I'm well aware of what happened while I was away. I'm sort of Kim's biggest fan. Right, guys?" he asked the two men beside him. They nodded. "I had heard that you two became a couple for prom? How'd that turn out?" he asked, a grin appearing on his lips.

Ron put one elbow on the back of his chair and lounged back. "Oh, we've hooked up." he said with a grin.

Walter's grin faded. "Excuse me?"

Ron was suddenly embarrassed. "Uh, y'know. We're in the..."

"I know what it means! I just didn't think... y'know..."

"A guy like me and a girl like Kim?" Ron asked, his grin broadening. "It's a classic story. Boy meets girl, becomes girl's best friend for more than a decade. Boy gets girl."

Rufus was watching the conversation unfold and noticed Walter's face flush red with each word Ron poured out. Struggling to keep his temper, Walter entwined his hands in front of him on the table. "So tell me..." Walter began. "I know you two were together your senior year, but around graduation, the world's power went out..."

"You mean when the aliens terrorized the planet?" Ron interrupted.

"Yes." Walter said, annoyed. "You two kind of fell off the planet for a year. What happened then?" he asked with a renewed eagerness.

Ron suddenly became very serious and leaned forward. "Walt, my good buddy... that is something that I can't tell you." he said, moving to stand. Walter grabbed the sleeve of his red denim jacket.

"Please Ron, I have to know!"

Ron pulled his arm away. "Come on, Rufus. Let's go see how Kim is doing." he said as the mole rat leapt up his arm to Ron's shoulder.

Walter Nelson watched Ron leave and glared. "Is the machine ready?" He asked Bob.

"It's operational, boss." Bob said. "But it hasn't been tested yet."

"Way to go, Bob." Mark encouraged in his deep resounding voice.

Walter was still watching Ron as he exited the mall. "Then we're going to require a test subject. One that doesn't matter if freezer burn sets in." he laughed. Bob and Mark shielded their eyes from the horrendous sight of Walter's mouth.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Mom!" Kim said the moment her dad and brothers walked out the door. "You've really got to give someone warning when you plan to stay over night!"

Her mother turned to her and patted a spot on the table across from her. "Have a seat, Kim." Kim did as she was told and took the cup of hot chocolate that her mother had poured for her. "Your father and the boys went to book a hotel room. Our flight was cancelled with the snow storm moving in."

Kim was suddenly concerned. Her mother's voice seemed devoid of emotion and she wasn't even looking Kim in the eye. Instead, she was looking out the patio door, watching the snow fall. "Mom?"

Anne Possible finally smiled and turned, taking a sip of the hot chocolate that sat on the table, warming her hands. "So how are you and Ron doing?" she asked before Kim could continue.

"Uh, fine. I guess. Mom, is there something wrong?" Kim asked, reaching across the table. Her mother pulled a small disk shaped container from her pocket and set it gently on the table. Kim recognized it instantly. "Uh oh."

"Mind telling me why you have a prescription for Tri-cyclen?"

Kim's entire body flushed red with embarrassment. She sighed. Despite her reflex that wanted to make up some excuse as to why else she might have it, she knew it was time to come clean. "Ron's been living here for the past few weeks. Well, since I've gotten the place, actually."

"Kim, I may be your mother, but I am also a doctor..."

"Mom, this is hard enough as it is." Kim glared.

Anne smiled slightly. "Kim, you should know by now what's wrong and what's right. You've been making those decisions since before pre-school, often with life and death consequences."

"Exactly! I'm grown up now, we're grown up..." Kim said. "Does dad know?"

Her mother shook her head. "I'm not sure he even knows what Tri-Cyclen is." she smiled, cupping a hand over Kim's. "I want you to know that although I wish you'd waited until you were married... I am glad you waited for Ron. And not that Erik boy..."

"Mom! He was a synthodrone!" Kim blurted.

"I'm just saying... sometimes prom can get the better of some people."

"One, it was junior prom. And two..." Kim's eyes went wide. "Are you telling me that you and dad...? I am so not having this conversation!" Kim shouted, standing. She crossed her arms over her chest and moved to the patio door, pretending to watch the snow fall. Instead, she stared at her reflection in the glass.

"Kim, your father and I knew this day would come sooner or later. Your father hoping for later, of course." he mother smiled, walking over to her. "But when Ron was willing to go into space to rescue you from an alien warship... well, we took it as a sign." she said, hugging Kim's shoulder. She smiled into the reflection. They looked nearly identical now. Kim's hair was longer though, and her muscles showed through her tight clothing. "No matter what decisions you two make, your father and I are going to be very proud of you."

Kim looked up at her mother's reflection, moving a hand to take hers. "Thanks, mom." she said, biting her lower lip in thought. "I don't suppose you'd..."

"Tell your father? No dice. That's just one of the many life and death choices I was talking about." Anne said, patting her daughter's shoulder.

"Thanks." Kim groaned.

* * *

Ron stood watching as Mr. Dr. Possible and his twin sons drove away in Kim's car. That just left Kim and her mom inside. He lifted his collar and wrapped his jacket around himself. He could feel Rufus shivering underneath his shirt, despite being wrapped in mini earmuffs and a scarf. "You're right, little buddy. This could wind up being one cold Christmas."

Shaking the snow off of his hair, Ron pulled his black hood up over his head and sighed. He was a coward. He could save the world with Kim, stand up to an army of monkey ninjas, and face down ten foot tall warmongering aliens, but he couldn't stand up to the father of his girlfriend. The moment he looked Mr. Dr. P in the eye, the man seemed thirty feet tall with the power to destroy him with a look, or worse... separate him and Kim forever.

"I don't know what to do, Rufus. I haven't felt like this since prom." he said, holding his head in his hands. "Was it all a mistake? Moving in with Kim. Spending the night? Dating? Meeting her in pre-K?"

Rufus poked his head out of Ron's sweater, placing a hug around his neck. "Aww..." came the little squeak.

"Thanks, buddy." Ron said with a smile. He looked up at their fourth floor apartment and could see Kim stand there, arms crossed. "Maybe she would have been better off with a sidekick like Walter. I mean, sure he's got bad teeth. But he's got style, and money, and big ever present friends. I'll bet he wouldn't think twice about telling Kim's dad how he felt about her."

"Nu-uh." Rufus said angrily. He was chittering wildly in an attempt to remind Ron of all the good times they've had.

"Yeah, I guess. But who's to say that Walter wouldn't have gotten the mystical monkey power? Or got his own naked mole rat buddy at Smarty Mart?" Ron asked.

Rufus looked deep in thought before slapping a paw across Ron's face. Ron raised a hand to his cheek as the stinging cold made the tiny red print hurt all the more. "You're right, buddy. I've got to snap out of this funk." He stood with new found determination and courage. "I'm gonna stand up to Mr. Dr. P! I'm going to stand up for Kim!" He looked up at the patio door again just in time to see Kim and her mother turn away from it.

Ron set his gaze on the front door of the apartment and began walking towards it. He didn't even notice the traffic that struggled to stop as he crossed the street. He grabbed the handle to the front door and pulled. Locked.

"Aw man." he said, fumbling for his keys. "How anticlimactic is that?"

Suddenly, a beam struck him in the back, freezing both Ron and Rufus solid instantly. Without notice, a massive yellow claw reached out and clamped around him, pulling him into the air.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"He's alive." Bob said, scanning the ice cube before him that was Ron Stoppable. "And in perfect suspended animation."

"Excellent!" Walter shouted. "Now to make sure he survives the thaw. Chain him up!" Mark and Bob moved to quickly slide Ron over to a wall and placed chains around him that would tighten as the ice melted. As they stepped away, Walter began the thaw process, spinning dials and flicking switches from his control panel up on a catwalk above. Within moments, the ice around Ron was gone, evaporated instantly into steam.

"Now to give him a piece of my... hey, where'd my keys go?" Ron asked. Rufus shrugged. "Never mind the keys, where'd my apartment go?! And where'd these chains come from?"

"Success!" shouted Walter.

"Hey Walt!" Ron shouted back. "How's it going, buddy?"

"Buddy?!" Walter shouted as he climbed down the stairs from the catwalk. "You take my girl. You defile Kim Possible and you have the nerve to call me buddy?!" As he got closer, Ron could see that Walter was no longer dressed in his expensive suit, but was now in what looked like Ron's old mission gear with a green and purple KP logo emblazoned on the front.

"I thought you couldn't get that outfit anymore." Ron said.

"You can't. I bought all the Kim style I could when it became available." Walter cackled. "You see Ron, Kim should have been with me. I can keep her safe. I can keep her saving the world... forever!"

"Dude, I don't think there's anything that could keep her from saving the world. So good job. You won. Can I go now?" Ron asked nicely.

"You don't understand. Age. Time. That will stop her. But not while she's with me. I can freeze her. Thaw her when the world needs saved again." Walter explained, wringing his hands together.

"Wait, what? You want KP to be your own personal world saving super hero?" Ron asked. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "Walt! You've become a supervillain?! Except that you want KP to keep saving the world... how does that work, exactly?"

"Silence!" Walter shouted, pointing a finger.

"Dude, not polite to point."

"When Kim Possible arrives, she will be frozen until the world needs her again. You, Ron Stoppable will be... discarded." Walter grinned.

Ron was beginning to worry. "Walt, buddy... I mean, dude. Can't we talk about this?"

Walter stopped walking away and turned to Ron. "I have seen everything that you and Kim have done up until your graduation. I want to know what happened next."

Ron looked away. "Uh, yeah... I really can't tell you that."

"Look, Ron... I've been patient for the last year. I've been searching for you and Kim all over the planet. I've even made stuff up to quench my curiosity with fan fiction! I want to know!" Walter shouted.

"Can't tell you, sorry!" Ron said, turning his face away and clamping his lips shut.

Walter's face was turning red again. "Well then, maybe Kim will if your life is at stake."

"Not gonna happen, dude."

"We'll see..."

* * *

"I wonder where Ron is." Kim said to herself. She was looking out the patio door again at the larger snow flakes that were pounding down through the darkening sky.

"Kim, could you set..." her mother began, gesturing to the small table in the kitchen.

Beep beep beep-beep

"Just a sec, Mom. What's the sitch, Wade?" she asked. Jim and Tim got up to take her place setting the table.

"I've finished analyzing the area in Pop Pop Porter's office, Kim. You are not going to like this." Wade said with a worried tone.

"Give it to me straight." Kim replied.

"I found traces of cybertronic nanobots on the vault and in the locking mechanism."

"Great! Cybertronic as in Centurion Project, or...?"

"As in Hephaestus Project." Wade finished. "Drakken and Shego are still in Go City working for GJ. It's not him.

"I'm not that surprised. Those Diablo toys were all over the world. Someone was bound to figure them out eventually." Kim surmised, then allowed her thoughts to stray. "Any idea where Ron is? He went to meet with a guy named Walter Nelson and he hasn't gotten back yet."

"Did you say Walter Nelson?" Wade asked.

"Uh, yeah. Knew him in grade school. Long story." Kim said, not eager to get into it.

"There was a Thomas Nelson that worked on the cryofreeze ray at Pop Pop Porter's!"

"That would be Walter's dad. I thought he was into aircraft though."

"Weird coincidence?" Wade asked.

"Maybe not. Can you give me Ron's location?" Kim waited as Wade's fingers danced over his keyboard.

"That's weird. I've got him now, but for a few hours ago... nothing."

"Where is he?" Kim asked, suddenly worried.

"Warehouse seven-bee of sector twenty two."

"I'm there." Kim said, turning. "Sorry, mom, duty calls!" she said as she ran into her room. "I'll put yours and Ron's plates in the fridge, honey." her mother said.

"Please and thank you!" Kim shouted from her room.

James Possible walked in from the hall of the apartment and placed the groceries on the floor to take off his red, high density winter coat and hang it up beside his wife's identical coat. Carrying the grocery bags into the kitchen, he noticed only four plates on the table. "What's going on?"

"Kim has to go save Ron, again." Anne said distractedly.

James smiled and laughed. "Oh, that Ronald. In trouble again, is he? What did he do this time?"

"Not sure. You'd have to ask Kim." Anne answered just as Kim burst from her room wearing her purple and black mission gear.

"Hold up, there Kimmie-Cub. Your mother says you've got something to tell me." James said with a smile.

Kim stopped dead in her tracks. "Now?!" she didn't have time to argue and keeping such a secret from her father was eating away at her. "Ron lives here." she said, looking him square in the eye.

James laughed. "Oh, I know."

"You know?!" everyone asked in unison.

"He practically lived at our place in Middleton, too." James said, obviously not understanding.

"No, I mean he really lives here. In our one room apartment." Kim tried to explain without being too obvious.

"That's great, honey." he smiled. Kim shrugged at her mother before grabbing her coat and racing out the door. James was still standing with his hands on his hips. "None of that explained why Ronald's in trouble, though."

"Hickabickaboo?" Jim asked, looking at Tim.

"Hoo-sha." Tim answered with a grin.

Anne simply shook her head at her husband. "Better wash up, dear. Dinner's almost ready."

"Okie doke." James replied, stepping into the bathroom. He rolled up his sleeves to wash his hands and face, then took one of the two towels that hung beside the tub to dry off. He took in the rest of the bathroom as any father did when measuring up his daughter's living space.

For the most part, it was clean. A brush full of red hair was to the side of the sink, a cup with a number of toothbrushes sat in a holder beside the mirror and a razor laid with its shaving cream to the opposite of the brush.

He stepped out of the bathroom whistling jingle bells and sat down to dinner with his wife and two sons. As his family dug into their meals, James lifted his fork and stared at it.

"Dad?" Jim and Tim asked in unison.

"Dear? Are you alright?" Anne asked.

"That rascal!" James shouted, standing quickly enough to knock over his chair. He was grabbing his red coat and hat before anyone could move to stop him.

The door slammed shut as Anne Possible looked at her twin boys. "I don't think any of us expected him to say that."


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Kim was dodging traffic as she raced to the warehouse district. "You're almost there, Kim." came Wade's voice from her car's internal Kimmunicator system. For once today, Kim was able to concentrate. Whether her dad understood what she had told him or not, the secret was out, and did it feel good!

"Ready to launch, Wade." Kim said, slamming on the brakes as the target building came into view. She toggled several switches with on hand as she fought for control on the icy streets with the other. The convertible top retracted, letting the cold wind and snow whip around her hair, but it was only for a moment as the ejector flared to life and propelled her up and forward.

Her heart was beating audibly in her chest. She had rescued Ron hundreds of times before, but this somehow felt different. She felt... grown up. She tucked herself into a roll as she landed on the roof of the warehouse. Even despite being on her own for a year and half with no parents, she still had the lingering feeling of being daddy's little girl. But now it was different. Now, even this simple mission to rescue Ron and get back Mr. Porter's plan was exciting again.

Kim wiped away the snow from a skylight and peered inside. The warehouse was mostly empty except for Ron chained to one wall and three men standing up on a catwalk. Carefully and quietly, she severed the lock that held the sky light closed with a laser, then lifted the sheet of glass out of place.

"Dude, when Kim does get here, she is so gonna tool you!" Ron shouted.

"She will not!" Walter's voice was becoming hoarse from yelling. "I don't even understand why she's with you! I actually always figured she'd end up with Shego..."

This took Ron by surprise. "Eww! Dude, she's not even... y'know. Eww!" Ron said again in disgust, shivering.

"Eagh... gross!" Kim whispered to herself. With the grace and stealth of a cat, Kim dropped in. Bouncing from girder to railing, she made her way down to the floor and into the shadows, watching and waiting. It was Walter Nelson, alright. Kim cringed as he laughed and covered her mouth in shock. "That could have happened to me?" she whispered to herself, suddenly praising her parents for their choice in medical personnel. She took another look around the barren warehouse. Simple chains bound Ron to the wall. Walter and only two henchmen. This seemed too easy.

"Hey boss!" said one of the henchmen.

"What?!" Walter cried, now beat red.

"It's snowing." the henchmen observed.

Walter turned slowly to face him. "It's December, Mark. It does that." he growled, grinding his teeth.

"No, I mean inside. It's snowing." Mark said, looking up and pointing at the open skylight.

"She's here." Walter said in a sinister voice.

"Great... way to go, Possible." Kim whispered as she continued to watch.

"Hello, Kim!" Walter shouted, allowing his voice to echo through the room. "It's been an awfully long time. Too long in fact!"

Kim stopped listening. She unholstered her grapple gun and took careful aim at the girders on the ceiling.

"Show yourself, Kim. Or your roommate here won't be helping with the rent next month!" Walter shouted, spinning around on the catwalk.

Kim fired and steadied her arms for the sudden jolt that she knew would be coming. With nothing but the wind to make noise, she reached the height she needed and severed the line at the grapple, ducking into a roll and pressing herself up against the wall next to Ron. "You could tell him, but not my dad?" Kim whispered. "Are you crazy?"

"Not my fault, KP... well, okay, it is my fault. But I was coming to tell your family, honest. Then I got frozen." Ron whispered back. He pretended to struggle as Walter turned back to look. Ron grinned up at him.

"Kim?" Walter shouted again.

"You... you were coming to stand up for me... for us?" Kim whispered.

"I love you, Kim. I'm not going to let anyone get between us." Ron whispered back.

"Well... maybe I'll let you go after all." Kim grinned, activating her laser. The chains fell with a clatter and Walter whipped around to see the two in an embrace.

"Kim! How could you?" Walter shouted from the catwalk. "I loved! You were supposed to be mine!"

"As if!" Kim replied.

"As if, if!" Ron continued.

"Give it up, Walter. We've got a family dinner to get back to and Pop Pop wants his plans back." Kim ordered.

"Oh, I think your family dinner is going to be getting cold!" Walter shouted, lifting a remote from his control panel. From the shadows of the ceiling lowered a beam weapon that looked awfully similar to Pop Pop Porter's cryofreeze ray.

"Ron, get out of here!" Kim shouted, backflipping into an array of somersaults as the beam powered up, creating a slab of instant ice where she had been a moment before.

"No way, KP!" Ron replied, running towards the stairs that lead to the catwalk. "We're in this together!"

Kim was busy looking for cover as Walter strafed the beam along her path. There was nothing. The warehouse was empty. She began to make her way towards the double doors that seemed to be the only exit. "Ron, come on!"

Ron was struggling at the top of the stairs with Bob and Mark. "Get out of the way!" Ron whined. Mark managed to grab Ron by the shoulders and Bob curled his arms around Ron's waist, tossing him back down the stairs.

"Way to go, Bob." Mark said, giving his companion a high five.

Kim stopped at the exit and spun as Ron fell to the floor. Then the doors burst open and she looked up to follow Walter's obsessive, evil gaze to the figure that stood before her. "Kimberly Anne Possible!" came her father's voice with more anger and disappointment that she had ever heard before.

"Dad, no!" Kim shouted. Walter knew as well as she did that she couldn't keep herself from taking the hit and as the beam zig zagged around her, carving a sheet of ice as it did, Kim leapt in the way.

James Possible watched in horror as his daughter dropped in front of him, encased in a block of ice. "Kimmie Cub!" he shouted, then looked up at her assailant, then down at Ron. "Ronald Stoppable! What is going on here?"

"Uh oh." Ron said as he stood, brushing himself off.

"Success!" Walter shouted, punching the air in triumph. "Looks like your monkey powers aren't as unstoppable as you thought, Ron! You did well against invading aliens. Against me? Not so much."

"Excuse me! What is the meaning of all this?" James asked, stepping up beside Ron.

"Uh, Walter Nelson up there stole a cryofreeze ray and now he never wants Kim to grow up so that she can keep saving the world. And, oh yeah... he just won!" Ron shouted angrily.

"Now you listen here, Ronald!" James said, poking a finger into Ron's chest. "I know all about you and my daughter living together and I'll have nothing of it. I want you out of Kim's life from now on, do you understand?!"

Ron panicked for a moment. He didn't have time for this right now. Kim was laying on the floor in a chunk of ice and her father was lecturing him? "Look, Mr. Dr. P. I know you're concerned about Kim, but..." Ron hesitated. He had been about to tell him how Kim had invited him to spend the night. How she had taken the steps to find an apartment. "But... Kim is old enough to make her own decisions. And... and when I asked to stay the night, she let me in. Now I love Kim, sir. And if it turns out that she wants me to leave once we're done here, then that's fine. I... I won't influence her decision if you don't."

Walter yawned loudly from his place upon the catwalk. "Or, I could save you both the trouble." he said, remotely moving a crane to grab Kim.

"Mr. Dr. P. I know you're not too fond of me right now, but you need to take care of thawing Kim. I'll deal with the Fanboy."

James nodded. Despite his simmering anger for the boy, he couldn't find a way to argue with him over his speech. Yet. "Go get him, Ronald."

Ron pointed at Walter as a blue haze erupted around him. "Get ready to be spanked by the ultimate monkey! Master... ultimate monkey master... That still doesn't sound right, does it?" Rufus shook his head.

"Ron, Ron, Ron... you think I don't know about your mystical powers? I told you, I know everything about you and Kim." Walter retorted in a bored tone. He tossed what looked like a small toy at Ron's feet and pressed a button on his remote.

"That can't be good." Ron said as he looked down at the cute Diablo toy. It sparked as it stood up on its own, then grew within a fraction of a second into the monstrous giant robot that Ron remembered from Prom night. "That'd be so cool if it wasn't gonna..." Ron shrugged and grinned. "Enh, it's pretty cool."


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

James Possible shielded his eyes from the sudden, inexplicable wind that filled the warehouse, centering on Ronald. He had always trusted the boy. Trusted him to watch and protect his daughter when it was required. When she couldn't, for some reason or another, protect herself. He looked from Ron to Kim and back again. Right now, Ron was pitting his life against a thirty foot cybertronic robot to protect Kim. He could see that, and despite how James felt, he couldn't deny that the boy would choose to end his own life if it meant his Kimmie-cub would be safe.

Turning toward the stairs, he grabbed onto each railing and lifted himself up. He looked up to see two men standing in his way. "You're standing between a father and he's daughter's life!" he shouted. "Is that what you really want to do?" The two men laughed and lunged. James put up his arms in defense and they grabbed his jacket in an attempt to throw him off the steps. Pulling his arms into the bulky jacket, he ducked. He felt one fist catch him in the cheek before the jacket was pulled over his head. He crawled a few steps before looking back and noticed that the two men were continuing to beat the feathers out of his coat.

James crept up the rest of the stairs, finding it difficult to focus as the interior of the warehouse began to radiate a swirling red light. As he made his way to the catwalk, he looked around. Walter stood at the corner of the catwalk, watching the battle between Ron and the giant Diablo. In the other direction was the panel that would undoubtedly control the cryofreeze ray. Stepping carefully in his winter boots, James studied the controls for a moment. "This looks just like the controls we use at the space center for testing our thermal reversal experiments." he whispered to himself. Flicking switches and following the onscreen directions, James hit the final thaw button. A moment before he was pushed forward and over the railing.

"I'm sorry Doctor Possible! I wish we could have been friend!" Walter shouted over the wind. "I'm trying to make sure Kim can keep saving the world! Before she gets too old to!"

"The world is always going to need saved!" James replied, struggling to hold on to the railing. "Kim..." he hesitated, suddenly realizing that what Ron had said was right. "Kimberly needs to grow up. To make her own decisions!"

"No!" Walter shouted. "She'll end! What if she marries that... that freak?! Is anything possible for a Stoppable? Can you answer me that?!"

James felt his hands slipping on the railing. "Son, I can't tell you what Kim will do with her future. It's not my right... and it's not yours either!" he shouted back, trying to find purchase on something with his boots.

Walter laughed. "Sir, I wish you could have really called me son, someday. But I guess that'll never happen now, will it?" he asked with a sober look on his face. He gritted his teeth and bashed his remote on James' hands.

James couldn't help but scream on his way to the floor, then grunt as Kim swung through under the catwalk and caught him. "Dad, why are you here?!" she shouted. The wind inside the building seemed to continue to build.

"I... I came to confront Ronald." James admitted.

Kim shook her head. "Dad, I ..."

James held up a hand. "Kimmie-cub... Kim... I know you have to grow up on your own and I hate that you felt you had to hide this from me, but I'm your father!"

"Yes, you are! You're always going to be." Kim shouted, looking him in the eye. "I'm never going to let you go, dad. But you're going to have to let go of me! I can handle this! With Ron, I mean!"

"Kim?" James asked as Kim turned to leave. "Did Ron really ask if he could spend the night?"

Kim looked at him quizzically, shaking her head. "No, dad! I asked him!" she shouted before rappelling up to the catwalk.

* * *

-- A Few Minutes Ago --

Out of his peripheral vision, Ron could see Doctor Possible run for the stairs to the catwalk. He could feel the wind in his hair and he looked down at his hands. A now familiar blue glow was enveloping him and he looked up as the giant Diablo lifted a foot to crush him. He grinned. Without effort, Ron seemed to sidestep without moving his feet and the robot's foot crashed down on his former location. Ron looked up at the robot, his eyes sunken in with a blue haze, and suddenly he spun, placing a foot solidly into the ankle joint of the robot, shattering it.

The Diablo fell to one knee, putting it's arms out for support. Ron turned, readying another strike. Suddenly, his eye caught the fracture in the robot's joint as it glowed and healed. "Ah, nuts... Rufus, better find that remote. This could get ugly." he said as the Diablo spun on its waist joint, pelting Ron across the warehouse floor.

Ron leaned forward and slowed his velocity, stopping before he struck the wall. He lifted a hand to his lip, wiping away the blood that rested there. Breathing deep, he performed a relaxing Tai Shing Pek Kwar kata, shaking the dust off of his shoulders. With an unexpected grace, he maneuvered himself into a defensive stance and called the robot on with a wave.

Switching out one claw for a circular saw and the other for a flame thrower, the Diablo charged, spewing flames. Ron leapt high, over the cone of fire and dodged cleanly between the eye lasers that blew a hole in the wall behind him. The world moved in slow motion for a moment as Ron spun in a roundhouse kick that caused a starred crater in the robot's chest plating.

It took several steps back but again, the fracture began to glow and repair. The circular saw raised, slicing cleaning through the girders and roof in a shower of sparks before coming down on Ron. He batted the spinning blade to the side and leapt up the Diablo's arm, bringing a solid haymaker down on its shoulder. The arm dropped and the blade caught the concrete floor, dragging the arm into the far wall before it finally stopped spinning.

Ron landed, without injury or hesitation, from the thirty foot drop and he leapt again, placing a kick squarely into the robot's hip joint. It fractured, and he struck again, severing the leg. Landing, Ron rolled to the side. Sparks were flying from the Diablo's amputations until they began to glow and heal over. Ron grinned.

Rising in a monkey leap, Ron landed with both feet on the robot's other shoulder and bounced off of it, landing on the Diablo's back, pummeling it with his fists.

Kim jumped the railing from behind Walter as he fiddled with the cryofreeze ray's control panel. It was being aimed at Ron, who to Kim's mild surprise, was tearing apart one of Drakken's Diablo robots. "It's over, Walter!" Kim shouted.

Walter spun around. "So, you're father managed to finish the thaw process." he said, the wind beginning to die down. For the pocket on his hip, Walter drew what looked like a miniature cryo gun. Before he could blink, the weapon flew from his hand with a quick axe kick. Walter grunted as Kim grabbed his forearm and twisted it, spinning and forcing her elbow into his upper lip.

"You bro' my teef!" Walter shouted, holding his mouth with his good hand. He slumped down on the catwalk, his mouth bleeding into his gloved hand. "I can't belief it..."

Ron took one last leap onto the catwalk before the wind and his blue halo diminished. "Believe it, dude." he said, wrapping one arm around Kim's waist... then retracting it as James climbed the stairs with his torn coat in tow.

Kim pulled Ron close as the police sirens filled the air and her father looked on with an approving look. "Ronald?"

"Yeah, Mr. Dr. Possible, sir?" Ron replied sheepishly.

"I couldn't be prouder that my daughter decided to choose you to grow up with." he said, offering his hand.

Ron looked down at it in hesitation before shouting "Boo-Yah!" and giving the man a hug.


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

James Possible packed his carry-on baggage into the overhead compartment and sat down beside his wife and across the aisle from his twin sons. Allowing his shoulders to relax, he closed his eyes slowly, waiting for the plane to take off.

"You really should put some ice on that, dear." Anne said from his left side. "I'm sure it must sting."

"I feel fine." James said. His swollen eye was stinging, but feeling the pride that his three children had when they saw it that morning allowed him to ignore the shiner that one of the henchmen had given him. He just wished they had gotten caught with that Walter Nelson fellow.

"It looked badical, dad." Jim said.

"Really?" James asked.

"Totally!" Tim confirmed.

"Groovy!" James replied with a smile.

"Don't encourage him, boys." Anne said. "So tell me, James Timothy Possible... what alerted you to Ron's presence in Kim's apartment?"

James grinned, closing his eyes again and laying his head back. It had certainly been an eventful, and exhausting weekend, even though he was eager to get back to the space center the next day. Science always had a way of taking his mind off of things. "I've always said that anything is possible for a Possible..." he said, pausing. "But there is no way that my Kimmie-cub can cook. Why would she need so many casserole pans and an egg-poacher unless someone else was there for supper and breakfast?"

"That was your clue?" Anne asked, incredulous.

"Yep... the old noodle's still got it!" James replied, tapping his forehead.

"So you're ready to finally let go of your little girl?" Anne asked, taking his hand in hers.

James grinned. "No big, honey. Besides, I think I'm going to have my hands full keeping the girls away from my boys! Right?" he said with a stern look at Jim and Tim.

"Hickabickaboo?" Tim asked Jim with a worried look.

"Hoo-sha!" Jim replied, holding his head in his hands.

* * *

"So how's Walter doing, Wade?" Kim asked into her wrist Kimmunicator as Ron made popcorn.

"Well, all things considered. His mom's a good lawyer." Wade replied. "I'll keep tabs on him, but I'd keep my eyes open if I were you."

"Will do. Thanks again, Wade."

"Any time, Kim."

Kim closed the connection and curled up on the couch with her boyfriend, resting her head in his lap and stealing a handful of popcorn from Ron's bowl. She could feel the tired muscles in Ron's legs twitch from the battle the night before. After having to provide their statements against Walter last night, then see her parents off on their flight early this morning, Kim and Ron had yet to sleep more than the three hours they had gotten the night before. They were both exhausted and yet the adrenaline and excitement of finally feeling... free, was keeping them from sleeping.

"Ron?" Kim asked as their movie ran through its opening scene.

"Yeah, KP?" Ron replied through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Kim... shoot."

"Did you ever wonder... why Walter?"

"Why'd he become a villain?"

"No... why I kissed him." Kim said, suddenly nervous. But it was the time for secrets to be revealed. She felt him shrug. "He reminded me of you..."

This seemed to catch Ron by surprise. "How?"

Kim smiled and shrugged. "He was... never normal?" she asked, more to herself, rolling onto her back to look up at him. "You remember when I said how it took you twelve years to kiss me?"

Ron thought for a moment. "Was that when you caught Bonnie kissing me?"

Kim glared playfully for a moment. "Yes. What I meant was that I had been waiting since like, we were six for you to make your move."

"What?!" Ron asked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I figured you just wanted to be friends." Kim said earnestly. "And then the whole moodulator thing happened..."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "And here I thought you had just wanted to be friends..." Ron said. "Wait, what about all the times you changed in front of me?" Kim blushed and rolled back onto her side. "You're a tease!" Ron grinned.

"And you were a gentleman." Kim said, turning back and drawing his face to hers in a kiss. "I'm glad everything turned out how it did."

Ron smiled, then focused on the television. "Shh... movie starting."

After a few moment of watching 'A Christmas Carol', Kim spoke up. "Ron?"

"Uh?" came the only reply.

"Are you still going to be with me when we're old and tired? When we're too old to save the world anymore?" Kim asked, waiting. "Ron?" she said, looking up.

Ron's head was laid back against the couch and a light snore escaped his lips. Kim smiled, looking over at Rufus as he snored, clinging to Ron's sleeve. She laid her head back down on his lap, supporting her head with her hands, and allowed sleep to overcome her as well.


End file.
